North Fayette Valley graduation is Sunday, May 15

By Jack Swanson

jswanson@fayettecountynewspapers.com

North Fayette Valley School’s 2022 Commencement is Sunday, May 15, 2 p.m., at the High School Gym in West Union.

This year’s class motto is "I don't know about you, but I'm feelin' the Class of 22."

The class song is “I'll Always Remember You” by Hannah Montana.

The class colors are Columbia blue, black, and silver.

The class flower is a white carnation with ribbon in school colors.

The commencement program will be as follows:

For the Prelude, the North Fayette Valley High School band will play “Symphonic Overture” by Charles Carter. It will be followed by the Processional, “Pomp and Circumstance,” also played by the NFV HS Band, who will go on to perform the Presentation of Colors and the National Anthem.

North Fayette Valley High School students helped beautify the town recently by cleaning up the gardens in the downtown area. Julius Mueller and Clayton Schaefers pitched in to get this spot ready for summer and RAGBRAI. (Jack Swanson photos)

Gardeners being sought to help West Union look its best for RAGBRAI

By Jack Swanson

jswanson@fayettecountynewspapers.com

The town of West Union has 101 gardens they want to have spruced up in time to greet the riders on RAGBRAI when they hit town on July 29 for their overnight stay. Actually they’d like the work to begin as soon as possible but are hoping the town and its gardens will be in full bloom when the riders arrive.

The majority of these small flower and shrub type gardens are scattered throughout the downtown area and were created as a part of the town’s Main Street Iowa revitalization program that was started in 2006.

South Winneshiek alum Felicity Taylor captured the Senior women’s freestyle national title Friday at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nev. Taylor took first place at 53 kilograms by defeating Alyssa Lampe in the finals via a 14-3 technical fall. (submitted photo)

Taylor earns gold at U.S. Open

by Zakary Kriener

zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

South Winneshiek graduate Felicity Taylor, a native of Spillville, had herself a solid showing at the 2022 U.S. Open wrestling tournament in Las Vegas, Nev.

Fr. Gross re-assigned, Fr. Huber coming to area parishes

by Zakary Kriener

zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

The Archdiocese of Dubuque announced its official ministry appointments last week and our local Catholic parishes will be seeing change this summer.

Effective on July 12, current pastor at St. Francis DeSales (Ossian), St. Aloysius (Calmar), Our Lady of Seven Dolors (Festina), and St. Wenceslaus (Spillville) Father Robert Gross will be re-assigned as pastor at parishes in Bellevue, St. Catherine, St. Donatus, and Springbrook. Father Gross has served the four area parishes since 2016.

Gross also served as Pastoral Coordinator of St. Teresa of Calcutta School and St. Teresa of Calcutta Faith Formation in Calmar. In his new assignment, he will serve as Pastoral Coordinator of the Bellevue Area Consolidated School and Marquette High School in Bellevue.

Frana a true 'PIano Man' at NIACC's Quodlibet

By Zakary Kriener

zkrienre@fayettepublishing.com

“Sing us a song, you’re the piano man. Sing us a song tonight.” Well, for Calmar native Brandon Frana, he not only sang them a song – but also accompanied his performance of Billy Joel’s iconic song, “Piano Man,” by playing the piano and harmonica as well during North Iowa Area Community College’s (NIACC) Quodlibet.

“Being able to just sing with others, make music, and be out there on stage is what I love most about being involved in music,” said Frana, a 2021 graduate of South Winneshiek. “We did about 25 different songs this year at Quodlibet and I was a part of probably 15 of them.”

Committee Chairperson Ron Saboe will be showing young riders like Josie Michael, a third grader at West Union Elementary, how to ride a bike safely and use the proper safety equipment, like a helmet, during the Bicycle Rodeo, Tuesday, May 17, at the West Union Elementary School. (Jack Swanson photo)

'Ride Right' is what these two RAGBRAI committee chairs strive for

By Jack Swanson

jswanson@fayettecountynewspapers.com

Safety, safety, safety!

It will be the key word when over 200,000 cyclists come to West Union for their overnight stay on the 2022 RAGBRAI ride.

No one knows that better than West Union Police Chief Paul Becthold and West Union’s Ride Right Committee Chairperson Ron Saboe.

Although he didn’t plan it, it seemed to work out perfectly that Chief Becthold scheduled a Bicycle Rodeo on Tuesday, May 17, showing all North Fayette Valley School District kindergarten through third graders, how to be safe when riding a bike.

South Winn Senior Awards Night is May 4

Wednesday, May 4, the Senior Awards Night will honor the South Winneshiek Class of 2022. The program will be in the high school auditorium and begin at 7 p.m. 

Seed Savers Exchange workers petition for union election

Employees of Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) are filing a petition with the NLRB to form a union. The union intends to represent full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees, bridging all departments. The majority of employees support union representation. These employees work together to care for over 25,000 heirloom seed varieties by regenerating them, recording cultural history, sharing seeds, and educating the public about the importance and practical aspects of seed saving.

Luna Valley Farm wins Outstanding Attraction Award

By Zakary Kriener

zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

Luna Valley Farm has been selected as the winner of the Outstanding Attraction for the state of Iowa at this year's Iowa Tourism Conference.  

Farmers Maren and Tom Beard added a tourism strategy to their business in 2017 to diversify income, create a community gathering space, and use wood-fired pizza as a way to lift up the narrative of local foods. The approach found wild success and Luna Valley Farm is now a true destination for travelers, serving more than 4,500 wood-fired pizzas each season. 

Members of the Clermont Fire Department, including (l-r) Kevin Wescott, Randy Wiedenhoff (chief), Brant Schrader (assistant chief), and Kenny Monteith (secretary), stand in front of the brand-new pumper truck. The truck was ordered two years ago and was finally brought to its new home in Clermont on Friday, where it will soon be put into service. (Zakary Kriener photo)

Clermont FD ready to put new pumper truck into service

by Zakary Kriener

zkriener@fayettepublishing.com

On Friday afternoon, the Clermont Fire Department was able to finally bring home its brand-new pumper truck – an upgrade that will allow the local volunteer fire department to work more efficiently and keep its surrounding community safe.

“We actually ordered the truck about two years ago,” said chief Randy Wiedenhoff. “On Friday, we drove up to Appleton, Wisconsin to go pick it up and bring it back to Clermont.”